


Hummingbird

by Leva



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, Confusion, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inner Dialogue, Insanity, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Reader-Insert, Romance, Sigma Needs Love Too, Team Talon (Overwatch), Therapy, thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 06:23:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19987555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leva/pseuds/Leva
Summary: Sometimes comfort was the only thing a person needed and that was exactly what you offered him. (Sigma x Reader)





	Hummingbird

It was dark, supposedly early morning, close to sunrise considering the stars had vanished from the sky, leaving behind only a pallet of deep blues and purples to peek through your small bedroom window. Despite the grim atmosphere of the hour, this time of night brought you a sense of security, something you were desperate for ever since you had set foot in this facility.

The room was simple, it had been the plain bed, closet and desk type when you had moved in, but with time and a little help from Sombra you had decorated it well enough to call it home without hesitation. A violet lava lamp sat on your night stand, next to an alarm clock and despite it not being your favorite color it had been a gift and you loved it. There was a picture hanging above your desk, a personal creation during one of the countless days you had suffered through without any tasks to tend to. Stacks of papers were littering the floor, an aftermath of your late night research combined with the clumsiness you unlocked when severely sleep deprived, you had to tidy up when you were done pretending to sleep.

Sure, you were unwillingly dragged into a terrorist organization, but it wasn’t all bad, you weren’t forced to become a soldier or use your knowledge and abilities to harm anyone. You were just here to help, tend to those mentally broken after their first battle, those who saw their brothers-in-arms die before them because Moira and Baptiste couldn’t help everyone in time. It wasn’t a hard task, you were a professional after all and it gave you hope to see the almost robotic mercenaries break apart in front of you and show you that there was still something human within them, hidden away somewhere deep.

You turned on your side, facing the wall, restless eyes moving under heavy eyelids, mind plagued by countless thoughts, exhausted, overworked, but refusing to let go and rest as images of your most recent patient crammed the inside of your skull. Your headache was nearly unbearable at this point, but you were just too lazy to go find Moira for more painkillers.

You shifted again, this time turning to the window and spared the outside a look, only seeing the sky and the roofs of compounds stuffed full of Talon weaponry.

As much as you liked stargazing the lack of visible outside world was mandatory and you were honestly lucky to even have a window, most other agents didn’t even have a personal bedroom. However, you weren’t just an ordinary mercenary, your task was much more dangerous than just going on missions and firing a gun, having Widowmaker covering your back while Reaper led the front lines. Well, it hadn’t been dangerous until your fellow coworkers brought back a complete lunatic one day and basically threw him in your arms with the order to fix him, like that was ever an easy thing to do. Despite your distaste in the way the others had tossed him in your care and expected you to switch off some hidden mental issues button, you couldn’t blame the man for it, he didn’t want to end up the way he did, nobody in his place would have.

Sometimes his outbursts were untamable and your organization had to resort to putting in a good amount of manpower to bring him down and sedate him, then keep him tranquil for days, hoping that after a while his fit would subside and he would be stable enough to be dispatched from the infirmary. It was sad how such brilliant genius, which was achieved with decades of hard work, could be diminished by a single failed experiment, evened out to dust and torn apart until nothing but chaos was left.

You couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. Not being able to control your own thoughts or actions, seeing others strapping you down without knowing why and then being treated like you were a monster – locked up, drugged, cut off from everything and everyone, left alone and inevitably letting your thoughts loose, the same thoughts that had driven you insane in the first place. He was suffering, regardless of how much he scared you at times he was suffering and you weren’t going to turn your back to him, this was what you had vowed to do and you weren’t going to make any exception even when things seemed as irreversible as he did.

When the alarms went off the sound tore through the silence in your room and you bolted up, comforter falling off your upper body. Your pulse skyrocketed at the abrupt change in atmosphere and you had to remind yourself to breathe once your sleep-infused brain finally regarded the fact that you were holding in your breath. Hazy eyes were opened wide, pupils expanded as you looked to your door, subconsciously believing that the answer to the sudden alert lied beyond, and you gripped onto your bare hips in anticipation.

What was happening? Was this a project you weren’t informed of to test out the troops in a panicked situation?

Your gaze averted stiffly to the neon red numbers on your alarm clock and once you registered the time your eyebrows locked together, suppressing panic and enforcing concern.

It was 4 AM, no way this was a test, were you being attacked? Had Overwatch discovered the location of your base?

Footsteps, hundreds of them, echoed outside your bedroom mixed with an unrecognizable voice screaming orders, you weren’t able to pinpoint the voice, but by the solidity of their tone you were sure it was one of the squad leaders.

A lump formed in your throat at the uncertainty of what to do. You were no mercenary, you didn’t even know how to hold a gun, what were you supposed to do if you were being attacked? Hide in this shithole until you were discovered and taken in for questioning?

When your door slid open with a distinct hiss you were ready to bolt, despite the weakness of your still waking up legs, but the familiar figure that practically barged in and almost fell over had you release the breath you had been holding onto and place a hand over your chest to steady your rampant heartbeat.

Sombra.

“Chica! We need you!” the woman had her hands resting on her knees, gulping down air like a drowning man, but her eyes latched onto yours once you had met her sight and refused to let go and that told you enough. Something, somewhere in base was going very very wrong.

“What’s going on?” you were able to make out while tossing the covers off you. Bare feet connected with the cold metal floor and for a moment you had to focus on not cringing at the unpleasant contact.

“Floaty man’s containment chamber was busted open. Moira was somewhere…getting a coffee, I don’t know, she wasn’t there to start up the sleeping gas and the lackey she left to guard in her place panicked and ran for it.” Sombra winced at the icy glare you gave her while draping your lab coat over the scarce clothing you called pajamas “Hey, don’t look at me like that! It wasn’t my fault!”

“I told you people not to take him on that mission.” you mumbled while buttoning up your coat and slipping on the pair of shoes resting next to your desk. You were furious, that much was clear to the Mexican diva. She had predicted your reaction to the news, that was why she volunteered to retrieve you while the rest tried to subdue Sigma, you were closest with her so naturally you wouldn’t give her too much crap for the bad choices her superiors had made. “We haven’t been able to calm him for days now! I have to wear gravity boots just to tend to him because he’s so out of it he can’t even control his powers!”

“I know, chica, I know.” she sighed, benched under your bone-chilling stare, paying the price for Talon’s idiocy and impatience “Gabe decided to dispatch him until his full stabilization, that’s something, at least.”

There was a note of hope in her voice, thinking maybe this leak of info would calm you down at least a little until enough time passed for your anger to naturally subside. She knew you cared for the people you treated, most everybody did and ever since Sigma had been brought in you were more attached to him than the rest, leading to the thought that him being in a critical condition because of Talon was something you weren’t going to let slide. She could imagine you bickering with Reaper like he was a common nobody because of your patient’s unstable state and she would have snorted if the current circumstances weren’t so dire.

“Allegedly.” you huffed, swooping the access card from your nightstand and stepping past Sombra who had moved to leaning against the wall, hands hidden behind her, cushioning her lower back while trying to steady her breathing “Let’s go.”

Of course he was unstable, Siebren’s mind was torn to shreds because of his ambitious tinkering with black holes, it was even a miracle he had preserved part of his sanity and the entirety of his genius after such an experience. He needed help, lots of it, by a professional like you, without the interference of life threatening secret missions that involved innocent people dying. Such things fueled his violent side, the one you were trying to claw through to get to the man who was trapped beyond it and couldn’t find a way out of the maze that his mind had become. He was dangerous, lethal if you weren’t there to sooth him, and a part of you was prepared to see bodies and injured soldiers when you reached Moira’s laboratory.

All of the work you had invested into this man, all the countless hours of research, treatment, lack of sleep and the sad but fact caffeine addiction you had developed, they all had been for nothing. Everything had been thrown away because Gabriel was desperate to find Talon another tank, somebody who could take the enemy gunfire head on while the troops fired back. You understood, regardless if you wanted to or not. Siebren was lucky to have even been given treatment instead of Talon just throwing him straight into battle and sucking all usefulness out of him before tossing him away. But still…you were a doctor, he was your patient, you would always be on his side, no matter who you had to talk down to defend him.

The organization needed him, they wanted to keep him for as long as possible, that was why they were willing to help him and even though it was still an act of selfishness at least it would do his fractured sanity some good…you sincerely hoped it would.

The flashing red lights and blaring alarms mixed with your haggard state and your previously set-on-your-goal thoughts jumbled together in a mess and for a moment your mind became blank and your hands and feet felt fuzzy. A prickling sensation in the tips of your fingers and your strained lungs were the only things keeping your sanity grounded. Maybe not sleeping enough and literally not consuming anything aside from coffee and the occasional cracker wasn’t the best way to go about your work. You needed to tend to yourself as soon as you stabilized Sigma, maybe a day of rest and a couple of nutritious meals would be enough to get you back in shape, you’d just have to watch yourself more closely after that.

You nearly ran over Sombra when she abruptly stopped, despite her telling you that you had arrived; your ears were screaming, you had missed that part.

“Holy Jesus…” you trailed off once your eyes adjusted to the bright white lights of the lab and you were able to see.

The facility was completely destroyed, there were massive dents scattered randomly around the walls, equipment was demolished beyond repair, sparks flying out hastily from dying machines that were torn apart with strength far beyond that of a human. Shattered glass littered the floor, some of it from broken computer screen, some from tossed rows of flasks which were accompanied by unknown fluids of multiple colorations. There was a fucking blood stain as big as you on the entrance door and you noticed that only when they closed behind you, trapping you inside the chaos that was the man you were supposed to treat. Some of the lights were blinking rapidly, threatening to give out any moment from the gravitational collapse that had accompanied Sigma’s breakdown and loss of control. Some of the spilled concoctions were eating away at the floor and you noted not to step on any of them as you brought a timid foot forward, eyes focused on the soldiers, clad in full armor, all brought together, looming over a convulsing body and trying to keep it down on what you guessed was an examination table.

The screams and incoherent words seeped into your ears and for a moment you thought they were bleeding, but a quick feeling of your hand proved you wrong. You sucked in a shaky breath and tensed immensely when you felt a hand on your shoulder, frantic eyes averting from taking in the destruction to the shorter woman standing next to you. She nodded to you, as if encouraging your reluctant, but dutiful approach of the environment.

Soldiers, who you hoped were simply unconscious were thrown around, lying on the floor, slumped over messy tables or leaning against walls, grasping onto wounds you were unable to see. You prayed to whoever could hear you that you wouldn’t end up like them because of your stupid feeling of righteousness and need to help others.

Gaze traced over a familiar figure toppled over in a chair, struggling to stand. Moira.

As if she felt the attention, she turned to you with an expression of pain and self-anger at letting this all happen and a tiny grain of relief that you were now at the scene and ready to help, and she barked at you through gritted teeth, shaking you out of your trance.

“Deal with him! I need him calm before I sedate him! Move! Now!”

“Sombra, help her up.” you choked out and rushed blindly into the mountain of soldiers, not knowing what to do, what might help, what was needed, just that you needed to do something. You forced yourself between two familiar faces, acknowledging the grunt Reaper threw your way and the relieved sigh that broke out of Baptiste as soon as he saw your delicate hands pressed against his strained arm as you squeezed yourself closer to your patient “Baptiste, go tend to the injured. I can take it from here.” you nudged him and after he spared you a look of insecurity, disappeared.

“Don’t let his hands free! He will crush you in an instant!”

“Don’t let him use his powers!”

Shock. It was all you felt as you mindlessly pressed down on Sigma’s struggling body. His screams, those of everyone else’s, they were all a buzz in your head. A wave of cold sweat crashed into you so hard that you felt your stomach churn, but rebelled against the nausea, you needed to analyze, see which demon he struggled with tonight and use a counter before you lost him to insanity completely. You weren’t losing him. You weren’t fucking losing him! He was innocent. He deserved a chance. He deserved redemption…

“I can’t hold on for much longer! – “

“ – You will as long as needed! That’s an order!”

His eyes were still, focused on something useable by the common person, something beyond comprehension that even he couldn’t understand, but saw. Fingers twitching uncontrollably, forced down by multiple pairs of hands so he could do no more harm to the laboratory, they were trying to reach for something. Your gaze traveled up and you spotted the unnaturally red ears, which were bound to be bruised once the blood subsided – they were bleeding, scratches covered them all over.

“I said to hold him down!”

“Chief, I can’t feel my arms! What the fuck do we do?!”

That was it. He wanted to cover his ears, he was hearing the melody again! Now when you tried your best to drown out all other noises and listened to the broken, blurted out pieces of words, you could pick out what he was saying, you understood.

_“What…wh…what is that melody?!?”_

Rapid heartbeat. He’s barely breathing despite his soundly inhales. Trails of fresh blood were running down the corners of his mouth and his clutched together rows of teeth were stained in crimson – he had bitten his tongue during his struggle. For God’s sake!

“The universe is singing to me!!!”

“Chief!!”

“Reaper!”

“Don’t let him go!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

The lab went silent aside from Sigma’s frantic mumbling. All eyes averted to you, silent acceptance and anticipation for your next order. You weren’t the top dog, but this was your specialty and if Reaper was willing to do as instructed, the rest followed like sheep. You knew what you were doing and you were the only thing capable of keeping Sigma sane, in a situation like this you were the single person who knew how to pull him out of the nightmare he was experiencing.

The thought of failure tormented you, it made your knees weak, but this was why you were here, there was no place for failure. You swallowed hard and the eyes you had kept glued to the chest that was being held down on the examination table lifted to skim over everyone participating in restraining your patient.

“Release him.” you spoke up, aware of the uncertainty because the hands never released their grip, only loosened “The restrains will hold him, I’ll make sure of that. Release him and leave.”

Gazes bore into you, hidden behind helmets, but the one holding the most weight was beyond a bone white mask and it took you a second to face it while gathering up what little confidence you had left after witnessing all of this. You nodded to Reaper, who had been waiting for a final gest of reassurance and after digesting it he let go and stepped back, followed by the rest.

“Please turn off the alarm when you leave.” you pleaded, refraining from pressing your fingers against your pulsing head and ease the headache, which the sirens had done no justice to “If anything happens we’ll turn it back on.”

They left shortly after, heavy boots padding away against pale metal plates, crushing shards of glass in the process, but they cared little, it wasn’t like they would get stabbed, the glass couldn’t pierce through their gear. Reaper gripped your upper arm when the last few soldiers exited the lab and you turned to him in question, but pushed back your curiosity and instead nodded again, understanding the words that never left his mouth.

“We’ll be fine.”

Sigma’s hands clutched his ears as soon as he was freed, breaking through his restrains with little to no effort and you couldn’t help but frown at his state. This was what they had reduced him to, a mess, chaos sealed inside a human prison, and you were stuck having to revert him to the form you had both achieved a week prior after so much hard work. Pitiful. Awful. You loathed them for what they did to him, for how they used him. He didn’t deserve this, yet here he was – shattered.

“Prepare the shot.” you turned to Moira who was slumped in her chair, a hand over her face, gripping the bridge of her nose and fighting off the guilt that was visible on her grotesque expression. She looked up at you in surprise, but quickly got to work when realization kicked in.

You sat yourself on the edge of the table, pressed closely to Sigma as he fidgeted and you did the only thing you had discovered could ease his madness in such a severe condition.

You started humming.

Your feet dangled, waving back and forth to the steady rhythm of the melody and the hands that were rested in your lap twitched awake before you guided them to his own, slim fingers wrapped around coarse ones. Soon enough his wide eyes blinked for the first time since you had arrived and with that his grey irises regained focus and slid down to look at the source of the humming – you. The strength with which he held his head slowly diminished and you were able to gently pull his palms away, instead letting them rest on his stomach, protected by yours, engulfed in warmth.

It was so difficult to maintain eye contact with his utterly terrified expression and still keep a small smile present and hum without your voice cracking. However, the struggle was worth seeing him slowly descend back into reality, every tense muscle in his body visibly eased and after a few moments his head tilted to the side so as to get a better look at you. He recognized you, you were glad about that.

“Good morning, Siebren. How do you feel?” you spoke softly while motioning for Moira that it was safe to inject him.

“What…happened?” his voice was hoarse, it was painful for him to speak, but the fact that he pressed on despite that had you smiling genuinely this time. His eyes widened at the shadow of the scientist that appeared above him with a syringe in hand, looking merciless and a bit sadistic, the typical Moira vibe. A ruptured noise came from within his throat as he twitched, unsure if he should pull away or not and in a daring attempt to ease him you cupped the side of his face and forced his attention back to you.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here, aren’t I?” you shook your head, dismissing negative thoughts “So then, how are you?”

“Confused.” his answer was chopped once the needle punctured his skin, but his gaze remained on you, trusting your words and letting his worry slowly soak into his bones and disperse into nothingness. He was also tired, completely exhausted if speaking truthfully, but he guessed that much you could conclude on your own if you were to give him even a sloppy examination “What happened?”

“You…had an outburst, I suppose. I wasn’t here when it happened, sadly.” the only thing you could offer him is an apologetic smile and as miniscule as it was, you hoped he would accept it “I came as fast as I could.”

“Thank you.” he exhaled and his eyes averted to the hand you had rested atop his before you felt him entangle his fingers around it.

_“Don’t let go.”_

“I patched up the wounded troops, moved them next door to the infirmary too, uff, hard work.” Baptiste piped up and you looked back at him in gratitude along with Sigma, who just stared with parted lips “Get well soon, old man. Hummingbird here will take good care of you.”

“For the last time, stop calling me that.” you grumbled sourly and lowered your gaze in embarrassment, earning yourself an exhausted but genuine laugh.

“Well I’ll go try to catch some sleep, you should too once you’re done.” he motioned to you with his head before stretching with a grunt and heading for the exit “Good night!”

“The drugs should kick in soon.” Moira spoke up and your eyes sharpened at her choice of words, but you said nothing. She straightened out her lab coat before picking up a few files scattered around her desk and hoisting them under her armpit “Do get some sleep eventually, I want to start repairs on my lab as soon as possible and I don’t trust those brutes to be careful with my equipment.”

“Of course.” you gave a single, curt nod before watching her disappear behind heavy metal doors and then finally refocused your attention back to Sigma “You should get some sleep too. I can imagine how much energy you used up this morning. I’ll stay until you fall asleep, if you’ll let me.”

Crisis averted. Thank God…

The way his sharp features softened and he relaxed told you enough and after swallowing heavily and dampening your lips you began to hum again, softly, barely audible. He enjoyed it and you never understood why, you didn’t really have talent, but to him it was soothing and one of the few things that could keep him content enough to drift off without the damned melody in his head torturing him. He felt so peaceful in your presence, soaking in your welcoming nature and the warmth of your skin whenever you were in direct physical contact, combined with your heavenly singing, it was the most wholesome feeling he had ever felt. You silenced the voices, the buzzing, everything that chipped away at the small amount of sanity he was fighting to secure, you were his salvation and the only person he dared to care for.

When he had first been brought into Talon and you were assigned as his therapist and caregiver he had paid no mind to you, instead continuing his research while you either silently watched him on the spare chair in his personal laboratory or explored his work and showered him with question, which he found himself answering without a reason as to why. It had taken you some time to make him comfortable enough to actually sit down and talk with you, but once that had been achieved he found himself discarding his preserved nature and spilling out thoughts he had never imagined sharing with anybody. He also found himself craving your presence whenever you weren’t around and even if he couldn’t pinpoint the reason and hid away his excitement when it was finally time for your check-up on him, he was truly pleased.

He failed to understand the human nature, people in general, their emotions and why they did the things they did. He wasn’t clueless, this just wasn’t his field of work and many books and articles he had read made no sense to him, there was no logic behind your race, which was why he was astonished by how knowledgeable you were in this sphere. You worked so well, knew everything, understood what he could not and on many occasions he had found himself setting aside his work and instead exchanging information and theories with you over a magical cup of tea you made just for the two of you.

He was your patient, as much as he disliked the term, so it was mandatory for you to be nice to him, however, a tiny spec of him hoped that all of this wasn’t just a façade and that you were generally enjoying your time together as much as he did. He hoped that you felt the same array of emotions he did, that you were happy with him and comfortable and…warm.

He hated how attached to you he had become, hated how easily he let go of everything the moment you asked for his attention and how willing he was to do anything as long as you wished him to. He was confused, at a loss because he didn’t understand what you had done to crawl so deeply under his skin and bring him to his knees. Yet there you were, fluttering, beaming, the only ray of light in this cold and professional organization and despite not fitting in with the rest of the employees, he was so glad that you were here, with him.

His hummingbird.

He hadn’t noticed when his eyelids had fallen nor when the lights in the lab had been shut off, but when your humming ceased and he felt your hand being tugged away from his grasp he forced himself out of his peaceful half-asleep state.

You had silently slid off the metal table and had pulled away from him, believing he had fallen asleep and deeming your work finished. You had been ready to return to your quarters and hit the whey for a few hours because Moira was definitely not going to show you mercy and let you skip the repairing process of her lab, you were just too valuable and because of the countless hours you had spent under her wing, studying her healing abilities you couldn’t decline her when she needed your help.

You gasped sharply when a large hand locked around your wrist and looked back, meeting eyes overwhelmed with desperation. Your brows locked together at the sight and you fought back a sorrowful frown and smiled instead.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were asleep.”

His lips parted, he wanted to say something, but the more he rehearsed the words in his head the stupider they sounded and he decided to instead stay silent. However, his expression spoke loudly and you had to use all your willpower to not lose it and start sobbing drily when your next inhale was due.

His face was so pure, so open, letting you see everything he refused to voice out. He was…begging for you to stay, to keep him company during the nightmare that the next few hours would be and not let him drown in his insanity. He wanted you here, he needed you, more than anyone else ever had and you would be heartless to turn your back on him now. The words never left his mouth, they were too selfish and unprofessional and embarrassing and both of you knew you would be stepping over a dangerous line if he were to voice them.

_“Stay…Please, stay. Please…”_

You pulled yourself back up on the table, smiling to yourself when he sluggishly shifted to the side and gave you more room, hoping to provide you with at least some comfort since you had granted his request.

“I’ll stay.” you whispered, not trusting your voice and after a shaky, uncertain breath, you laid down, resting your head against his chest and laying a hand over his heart and if the circumstances were different you would have giggled at the way it picked up speed “I’ll watch over you, just in case.”

It was protocol to keep Sigma in containment after and during an outburst for the safety of everyone else and your actions were a direct violation of that even if you were his therapist. You wouldn’t hear the end of it once Reaper found out, but frankly you didn’t care and you were ready to take his nagging head on.

Fuck protocol, fuck Talon, fuck everything…if you only had tonight you weren’t going to miss your chance and you would enjoy every second of it until you were pried off Siebren and scolded for your rebellion. You were willing to give up everything for this moment, for him, just to see him sane and happy. Anything for him…

You were cautiously brought closer, an arm curling around your smaller frame and you didn’t care if it was because he was more comfortable this way, you wanted to think it was because he wanted to protect you, keep you safe.

You broke the silence, tested you voice timidly before starting to hum again, an old melody your mother used to sing to you when you were little, one which you never thought would be important, yet it was. Silly how something so insignificant for one person could be the salvation for another.

The long breath Sigma took in made you smile without a reason and your voice rouse in decibels, now more clear and confident, but all sound left you when you registered his words, which casually drifted off into the air, but you could hear them repeat in your head like a broken record.

“My hummingbird.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This was somewhat of a therapy fic for me. After watching the origin story of the new addition to Overwatch I decided to sit down and try to write something because this is the first time Blizzard went to the dark side and addressed such a heavy topic, kudos to them. Please do keep in mind that I am no professional by any means, I do deal with my own mental illness daily, however, that doesn't qualify me as an expert on the matter. Information in the story might not be accurate when considering Sigma's mental state, there still isn't much information about him out there so I'm going with what little info I've found plus my own conclusions.  
> If you'd like to flame do so, but provide accurate information and sources, I enjoy criticism when it pinpoints an actual problem in my writing and I would love to expand my knowledge.  
> To whoever reads, let me know what you thought. Kudos are greatly appreciated.


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